As it is with most homesteading families, the journey to creating, maintaining and sustaining the eclectic Freedom Cove was a “learn by doing” experience.

“Both Wayne and I, once we decided this is what we wanted to do, we just did it. We really didn’t think about the hardships; we just did it,” Catherine says.

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They engage in many of the same traditional activities of other homesteaders. They have an extensive garden that provides three healthy meals a day; they grow their harvest in pots on their floating labyrinth. Catherine is a vegetarian but Wayne loves to fish and calls the Vancouver Island waterway the “richest biomass on Earth.”

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The waters flowing around Vancouver Island are their “highway.” Wayne and Catherine travel to town only once every two weeks for essentials – each time more eager than the last to get back to their secluded Freedom Cove.

Their home utilizes solar energy, a fresh water system designed personally by Wayne, and generators.

Being “in” nature without interfering with it was one of the primary goals of the couple when they launched their subsistence living plan.

“It has everything I need to survive; it has water, it has ocean protection from big storms, and we are immersed in the temperate rainforest. It suits me,” Wayne told the Daily Mail. “It’s cool, it’s fresh, we have no industry here – and as you can hear right now, you can’t hear any mechanical things; there’s no boats, there’s no planes, no Harley Davidsons or sirens. We’re surrounded by nature – because I’m a wildlife artist and have been recognized as that for a while now.”

Storms are the biggest threat to the floating homestead, but being nestled inside a cove offers a lot of protection.

If you ever find yourself in the area, stop by. They welcome travelers to come check out and learn from Freedom Cove – and they often even give them a homemade candle as a souvenir!

Would you want to live on a floating homestead? Share your thoughts in the section below:

4 comments

I first heard about the man who started this island back in 1998, he wasn’t married then and came across the idea to make the island when he started collecting plastic bottles. He felt it was a great way to “get away with no paying for land, by making my own land”.

It’s good to hear he finally got married, now my question is: do they have any kids?